---
title: "Independent assurance of Children in Care financial position"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-0777b6"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0777b6"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0777b6.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0777b6.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "Lincolnshire County Council"
published: "2026-09-22"
---

# Independent assurance of Children in Care financial position

Buyer: Lincolnshire County Council  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-0777b6

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## Summary

Lincolnshire County Council commissioned independent assurance of its Children in Care financial position and forecasting. The work covers reviewing the council’s financial position, assessing forecasts, and identifying opportunities to manage rising numbers of residential care placements and their associated costs. This is a financial consultancy service for local government and children’s social care, rather than the provision of care placements themselves. The buyer is Lincolnshire County Council, based in Lincoln, and the requirement concerns the council’s Children in Care financial arrangements. The service was awarded to Public Alchemy Ltd, a London-based small and medium-sized enterprise. Suppliers with experience in public-sector financial assurance, forecasting and analysis of children’s social care expenditure would find the requirement most relevant.

The procurement is complete and the contract is active. Lincolnshire County Council used a direct award below the relevant threshold, without competition. The contract was awarded to Public Alchemy Ltd on 7 September 2026 and signed on the same date. Its contract period runs from 7 September 2026 to 9 October 2026. The awarded contract value is £68,040 gross. There was one completed lot covering the full requirement. The award relates to financial consultancy services for independent assurance of the Children in Care financial position, forecasting and residential placement costs. The recorded tender status is complete, while the award and contract status are active, indicating that the selected supplier is undertaking the agreed work.

Although this contract has already been awarded, it provides a clear indication of Lincolnshire County Council’s need for specialist financial scrutiny of Children in Care services. A credible competitor for a future requirement would need to assess financial positions and forecasts independently, analyse the drivers of residential care placement numbers and costs, and identify practical opportunities for cost management. Relevant capability would include financial consultancy, assurance, forecasting and clear analysis for a public-sector client. Experience relating to children’s social care expenditure and the financial pressures created by residential placements would strengthen a supplier’s position. The award to a small and medium-sized enterprise also shows that the work can be delivered by a focused specialist consultancy rather than only by a large professional-services firm.

## Notice

Independent assurance on the Council's Children in Care (CiC) financial position and forecasting, and to identify opportunities to manage rising residential care placement numbers and the cost of such placements

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/089717-2026 |
| Notice type | UK7 - Contract Details Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Direct |
| Procurement method details | Below threshold - without competition |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 22 Sep 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 7 Sep 2026 - 9 Oct 2026 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £68,040 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Complete |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | Lincolnshire County Council |
| Locality | LINCOLN |
| Postcode area | Lincoln |
| Postcode | LN1 1YL |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLF East Midlands (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLF3 Lincolnshire |
| ITL 3 | TLF30 Lincolnshire CC |
| Local authority | Lincoln |
| Electoral ward | Carholme |
| Westminster constituency | Lincoln |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | Public Alchemy Ltd |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 66 - Financial and insurance services

### Codes

- 66171000 - Financial consultancy services

## Release History

- 22 Sep 2026 at 14:51 - Award - UK7 - Contract Details Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/089717-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/089717-2026
  22nd September 2026 - Contract details notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents
- https://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0777b6. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0777b6.json.